new start?

[justmeagain]

dont you just wish at times you could clear out whole house and start again with everything brand new.money aswell being no object?how many people are actually very happy with thier homes?

[silly moo]

Can I have a designer to help this time ?
Oh to live in a house that didn't need at least 1 room redecorating.
In fact to live in a house that had more than 1 room decorated!

[spudqueen]

Not happy with the house as it needs a lot of work doing to it (starting rewiring next week), am sure I'll be happy with it when it's all finished. I'm far too sentimental though to throw out everything in it, what about my favourite books, my photographs, the pictures my ex-next door neighbour painted, all the cards my husband has ever given me, my 42 year old cuddly rabbit, aaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhh

[justmeagain]

its supposed to be good for you,all that clearing clutter clears the mind etc.ive often sat and dreamed of what i would like done,mind you if i put as much thought into actually attempting to do the house,i probably woudnt be wondering this eh?

[netibiza]

Am very happy with my scruffy old villa - has a swimming pool and it's in Ibiza - but always needs something done - have another glass of wine and lay by pool - no worries. (OK in actual fact it's pretty cold here also - so it's a cuppa in front of the telly - but it's still in Ibiza)

[Chillum]

thaks for that netibza.

[netibiza]

Oh by the way there's "room for a pony" lol

[FP]

There are days when I would love to start again, but will never be able to afford to.  However, I think that all these makeover problems are making people very unsettled and would we really like to live in perfect houses? 

A perfect house does not necessarily make that house a home.  Like spudqueen I am very sentimental and my house holds lots of things that bring back happy memories.

When I look at these 'so called' perfect designer creations on the tele they are very often devoid of books.  How on earth can anyone live without books.

[FP]

'makeover programmes'!  How I wish we could edit our answers as well as our questions.

[hobsonbear]

like FP i like my house the way it is, yes i change furniture when it is old or 'tired' but during the last 20 years in various houses i have collected things from around the world that i just can't part with.  and i have hundreds of books!

h 

[Hgrove]

I moved from a house I liked in an area I did not like to a house I don't like in an area I like.  Main complaints: too small overall.  Tiny kitchen and no downstairs loo.  Also the garden is a suntrap in the afternoon.  In my old house the garden was sunny in the morning and shady in the afternoon which was heaven; this is hell, particularly in the summer when I am blinded by the sun in my eyes as soon as I walk into the kitchen. The garden is like an oven, I can't go out from 1 to 8pm all summer.  Oh, and the bathroom is falling apart.  There are practically no wardrobes/storage and bookcases (we also have 000s of books).  Still, I console myself thinking at least I have a foothold in this area which I could not afford now.

[ipek]

Yeah � know what you mean..!  I am always looking around my very crowded house and thinking the same.

But knowing we are planning to start again (abroad from UK), I am sorting through the personal stuff.  Yes I do love the home I have now, but it engenders clutter and I have found that as you get older, all you have spent your life collecting, you no longer have the passion for, or the space.  I remember my Grandma feeling the same.

That doesn't make it worthless, just time to move on.  Memorabilia plays it's part - all that 'rubbish' my parents/grandparents threw out is now so important as a social documentary as well as a personal history....as is mine!  Be selective, be careful, be respectful.

We hope to have a new home with all the things incorporated that we love and leaving out the stuff we hate.  But we need to take our heritage with us��.to make it home.

[Guinevere]

Thoroughly agree with FP (esp about books!)  Why are we so obsessed with the new trend/fashion/design etc when we already have so much?  We are constantly being bombarded with messages (TV, films, magazines) that we can be happy if we have a widescreen TV, conservatory, decking in the garden, a massive 4x4 car, converted loft....All it does is make us dis-satisfied with with our lives and what we already have.  To quote a Sheryl Crowe song: "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got"

[nykkieberry]

It's like anything, we always want more, especially when we are bombarded with images in magazines! It goes with the perfect body, car and lifestyle! Without getting all pious, watching comic relief on Friday put it all into perspective - people are so grateful for a roof and floor!

Just remember how happy you were when you moved in - and how grateful to have your first home!

If you declutter and deep clean then spend the minimum on a few throws, cushions, cheap accessories for the bathroom, well placed mirrors, considered lighting and rejigging what you have, you may have a very nice surprise! We did that over the last nonth and it was amazing the difference it made - it felt like a new house!